科举停废与文明冲突

科举制是具有世界影响的中华文明产物,贤能治国说或精英统治理论为科举考试制度的出现奠立了理论基础.在一定意义上,科举制可称为中国的"第五大发明".废止科举是19世纪末20世纪初东西方文明冲突的必然结果和典型事件,实际上科举是废于"时"而不是废于"制".科举制在清末被时代和历史潮流所否定,并不意味着这一制度应该永远被否定.尽管科举制有许多局限和弊端,但它曾在中国历史上起过重大的作用,对人类文明进程作出过重要的贡献,是中国不应忽视的文化遗产.

Abolition of the Imperial Examination System and Conflict of Civilizations

The Imperial Examination System(IES) is a world-famous and highly influential heritage of Chinese civilization.The theory of "governing the state by the talented and virtuous" or "ruling the state by the elite" is the rationale behind this system.In a sense,IES could be regarded as China's "fifth invention".Around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century,the abolition of IES was an inevitable result and a typical case of the conflict of Eastern and Western civilizations.It is argued that IES was abolished more because of that special time than because of IES's own problems,and that the abolition of IES at the end of the Qing Dynasty under the impact of the time and history does not mean that IES should be denied for ever.Despite its numerous limitations and defects,IES played a significant role in Chinese history and made great contributions to the advancement of human civilization.IES is a cultural heritage well worth treasuring.